2020 Wrap Up
To say that 2020 was a year to remember would be an understatement. One for the history books. It has been a very trying time, for many people in the world. It hasn't been all easy but, all in all, I must say that we are some of the lucky ones. Of course it's affected our lives in certain ways. I really miss seeing our families and friends. I miss travelling. I miss being able to hug others, but I am thankful for all that we have. Health, security, happiness. There isn't much I can complain about.
The year started out looking like it was going to be a really great year. January ended for me with a trip to Disneyland and then straight to Hawaii. There was talks about Covid-19 here and there but I wasn't thinking too much about it.
Come March and Covid-19 would become a daily thought for everyone around us. I clearly remember hearing on March 13th that Disneyland was closing and thought, "Oh my goodness. This is not just a normal disease." Little did I know that for the next three months I wouldn't be working and I would be homeschooling both of my boys (I had already been homeschooling my oldest for a few months).
I think the worst part for us was just the unknown. We had to cancel numerous trips, we had no idea when I would be working again, and there was huge concern with the kids mental well-being with being stuck at home for days on end with no social interaction. Baking has always been something that has calmed me and I'm sure our oven was on almost 24/7 during that time. Our neighbours probably loved me with all of the treats I was delivering. ;)
Once June came around I was so so excited to get back to work. The summer looked a lot different than other years but I must say that I actually enjoyed it. I realized how nice it was to have weekends to spend with my family. I think there are some good that we can say that has come out of all of this and for me going forward with a smaller amount of weddings booked might be one of them. I still will always LOVE shooting weddings but not booking all weekends, especially in the summer, is what is going to work for me.
Another great thing I got to experience was elopements and very small weddings. I had a number of very intimate weddings and it was really nice. It was so great to see brides and grooms so carefree and really just enjoying the day together.
I think throughout all of this last year I have really just tried to look at all of the things we can be grateful for. The fact that I do so much more with photography than just weddings is one of them. I do a ton of branding photography which i also really love, and so the minute I was able to work again, I was busy, busy, busy. Not everyone can say that. We may not have been able to vacation as much as we normally do but we usually go away a lot more than most and it isn't a necessity by any means. The amount of time we've had to spend at home as given us a chance to do a lot of home renovations we've wanted to do for a long time, including a new white kitchen, and a completely updated closet (my favourite of course). Christmas looked a lot different than any other Christmas. It was weird to not see family but it was nice to spend the day at home with just the four of us. My mom lives in our basement so it was really great that she could at least join us for part of it.
It seems that the hopes for a lot of people was that with the start of 2021 it would be the start of life going back to normal. I have kept an open mind and realize that the end might be slightly in sight but is still quite blurry. I think it's important that we just continue to try to focus on the positive but to recognize that people may really be struggling, whether it be financially, mentally, or physically. We are all weathering the same storm but we are all in different boats. Let's remember that everyone is dealing with this in many different ways and it's ok to feel sad, or lonely, or completely lost. Love and support is what will prevail.
